Greetin's folks... Finally registered after trying to digest the volumes of great information on this board. Glad I found it...

I'll also fire out my first question. I recently got my all black GSD from a breeder here in Michigan. On my first trip out to the breeder's facility, every GSD on the whole farm started to howl at once (like a large pack of wolves). It was the most amazing thing I have ever heard in my life... beautiful and haunting at the same time. I asked why there were doing that, and she informed me that they must have heard a siren or something similar that was too far out of range for us to hear it.

Here is my question... just to see how he would react, I have 'howled' for my pup. He just turned 18 weeks old. When I 'howl' for him, he starts to bark and runs around quite excitedly, but I can't tell if it is from panic or if it is from something else. Does howling communicate 'danger' to them, or some other emotion? I have not done it again, simply because I wasn't sure of the message it was sending. I want to ensure that my pup is brought up properly, even in spite of my ignorance... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Thanks in advance!

-Lee

According to L. David Mech, wolf biologist, howling has a social function for bringing the pack together, either in preparation for a hunt or after having gotten separated. It is always accompanied by great excitement in the pack members, much social greeting and good spirits. It's not a danger or fearful signal.

Thanks Lee! Wanted to be sure before we play the 'howling game' anymore... heh heh.

-Lee

Here is a link to the "Wild Wolves" program from the PBS Nova series. It addresses why wolves howl and has a few examples you can play over your speakers. The howls include

• Lonesome Howl
  
• Pup Howl
  
• Confrontational Howl
  
• Chorus Howl
  

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wolves/howl.html

Interestingly, both dogs in the house ignore the howls over the speakers. They only join in when I start howling. Must be a pack thing. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Hey, thanks Charlie! I played the puppy howl and the pack howl for my pup, and he loved it! He started to join right in! Got that page bookmarked for future 'howl sessions'... heh.

-Lee